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Reflections - Willing Hearts visit (16 April 2014)

When we were first told that we
were headed to the Willing Hearts (WH) soup kitchen, where close to 100
volunteers expected were already there before 7am preparing food for the needy,
I could not help but feel a little skeptical. Why would so many Singaporeans,
known for their pragmatism and borderline coldness, be willing to sacrifice precious
hours of sleep for no pay or any other forms of reimbursement?

However, when we stepped into the
food pantry, I was astounded by large groups of people inside, scrambling in
assembly lines and all playing their part in ensuring that food would get to
the needy by lunchtime. These volunteers, numbering an estimated 120 that day,
more than usual, were predominantly either from OCBC & CJC or middle-aged
volunteers overseeing the large-scale operations. The students were charged
with cooking rice, peeling and slicing ingredients, while the OCBC Community
Group members were scooping, portioning and packaging the food. Raw and cooked
food stations were well-separated for hygiene purposes, while the ingredients consisted
mostly of discarded or unsellable produce from nearby wholesale centres.

While arguably, the students (in
large groups, accompanied by supervising teachers) and the OCBC members
(proudly donning official polo shirts) were probably there to clock CIP hours
and chalk up corporate responsibility points respectively, what struck me was
their drive and commitment to the tasks at hand. Arriving early and without
complaint, they were willing to get their hands dirty if it meant meals for the
needy that day.

More admirable were the efforts
of the middle-aged volunteers, who were there of their own volition and despite
not receiving recognition or commendation, still soldiered on to coordinate the
organization. These were the true people who contributed without vested
interest or agenda, but instead witnessed the needs of those who fell through
the cracks of Singapore’s marginal welfare measures and rose up to address
them.

As we relieved the van of its
food load at the various distribution points, I realized that Willing Hearts
had a remarkably altruistic policy towards their scheme’s recipients. People
requiring food had no need to prove their plight, flash Welfare cards or
produce income statements to justify their requests. WH volunteers instead understand
their plight, satiate their needs and not draw attention to an already
sensitive and stigmatized situation. They do not distribute food to lend
sympathy or support for their cause; WH is a secular organization by nature.
The volunteers just freely give.

Most of the needy’s woes stem
from navigating the rigmarole of litigation and policy criteria to receive
pittance assistance from the Singaporean government, notorious in steering
clear of being a welfare-state in order to promote meritocracy and allocative
efficiency in resources. As such, many poor and elderly people fall through the
policies’ cracks, possessing incomes just exceeding the minimum wage ceiling.
They may lack food security but harbour notions of self-dignity and
self-reliance, refusing to seek help from government agencies and hence
struggle to even live from hand to mouth. WH looks past all that by ensuring
that the deliveries are swift, silent and most of all, helpful to the needy.

While interacting with Daniel in
his interview at NUS, I began to understand that the biggest obstacle for WH is
not the sheer amount of funds required to keep the massive operation running,
nor the fact that they seem underhanded in the concerted dash to beat the
clock. No, it was that the needy may not even be aware of such food
distribution campaigns and not approach organizations like Willing Hearts for
help, in turn suffering in silence. Daniel mentioned that prior to being told
by a CDC volunteer, he had not even heard of WH, nor of their campaign.

If one neither can afford the
time for assisting in food preparations nor the funds to aid food distributions,
one should at least participate in the communication campaign to raise awareness
amongst the needy; ignorance should not deny the needy of food security.
Sharing on Facebook about WH leads to the wider community being aware, who will
then encounter underprivileged people in their lives and can better advise them
on these welfare measures. Disseminating flyers to homes in “poverty hotspots”
takes only a fraction of the time needed for food preparation and distribution,
and targets the underprivileged, who may not be fortunate enough to even access
a computer. Lastly, building community awareness places greater pressure on the
government to support the truly-needy people, whose needs are all too invisible
and silent.

There are many ways to help the
needy, with or without finances. If Singaporeans are too fatigued by scenes of
abject poverty, food insecurity and poor housing conditions to even lift a
finger, perhaps the greater issue is not society’s underprivileged, but
society’s apathy and absence of compassion.